Lost Time, Lost Rio
by I'll Break Your Heart
Summary: "Yet he had been angry. Angry by her lack of presence when he had come to pick her up. Angry with her for forgetting something that was so important. He was angry that when he had come, she wasn't there. He had stomped home, feeling stupid and used, feelings that he absolutely loathed...He also went home feeling afraid."- AllenxRio


He should've realized something was wrong. He should've known something was wrong.

Why didn't he see it sooner?

It wasn't like Rio to break promises. It wasn't like Rio at all.

She knew he would be coming at seven to watch the stars. He knew that she would've contacted him if she couldn't make it. If something important had come up, he would've been the first to know. He knew she would've ran all the way across town and burst through his door, her bright golden hair flying, and apologize three hundred times about not being able to make it.

Yet he had been angry. Angry by her lack of presence when he had come to pick her up. Angry with her for forgetting something that was so important. He was angry that when he had come, she wasn't there. He had stomped home, feeling stupid and used, feelings that he absolutely loathed.

He also went home feeling afraid.

However this feeling was one that Allen refused to acknowledge. Not until later. Not until he lay down on his mattress and truly let the gravity of the situation sink in.

That's when the questions began spinning in his head.

Did she really care about him? Sure, he and Rio were dating and had been for two seasons already, but was what they were doing truly called dating? Was the simple act of giving a silver ring really constituted as "dating?"

Back in his high school days, a time that was a combination of feeling confident and superior yet weak and pathetic, Allen had gone out with many girls. It was something that he wasn't proud of, even though his male classmates would gossip about him in awe. To Allen, he was just looking for the "one." Really, it was stupid though to be looking for someone like the "one" in high school. After all, high school romances never lasted and were more of a fleeting-in the moment- thing than a "forever" thing. And though other boys would speak highly of him and would often beg him for what they called "dating tips," to Allen, nothing was more embarrassing and humiliating than when he had put on a mask and agree to the image others had created for him.

Yet even in this horribly, awkward time, the dating he had done had taught him what women liked and disliked. They liked to be taken out for lunch or dinner, they liked to have their hands held in public to show off to everyone that they were "dating", and they liked to speak about nothing for hours after hours.

With Rio though, this "dating" was different.

Rio never liked going out to eat. "Too expensive," she would say before stuffing her face with a homemade salad or soup. "Why should I waste money on food when I have perfectly good produce at home?" she would say. She would then grin her toothy grin at him and offer him a plate of Genovese pasta.

Rio also didn't like to be very public. The day after they began "dating," she had burst into his salon, her face as red as the tomatoes she harvested in the summer. Marching right up to him she had demanded to know how many people he had told about their recent confession. He had looked at her, surprised at her sudden appearance, and had said he told everyone who had entered his shop. If it was possible, Rio's face had turned redder and, whether it was because she was angry or embarrassed, he didn't know.

"Well," she had spluttered, trying to keep her emotions in check (though failing horribly), "Next time don't do something like that!"

When he had asked her what exactly she meant by "next time," Rio had stomped her foot and yelled out, "Y'know if we ever get married or something!" He remembered how she had suddenly gasped and had held her hands to her mouth, as if she was trying to force the words back down her throat. Naturally, he couldn't help teasing her for the next few weeks after she had said that. The way her red face would make an encore and the way her little mouth would squeeze together in a pout was too adorable for Allen not to enjoy.

As for speaking about nothing well…. Rio always had _something_ to say. Even if it was only for a very short amount of time. She would complain about the weather being too hot or too cold, about how hard running a farm could be, and about how much she hated the mines at night. Yet right after she complained, she would shake her head very quickly then jump to her feet and confidently say, "But that's the life of a farmer and I wouldn't have it any other way." And even though their conversations never lasted for long (Usually it was only about ten minutes), Allen always felt like he could listen to her talk about how she saw the world for hours.

Maybe it was this lack of conversation he was most scared about. This short, fleeting amount of time, this simple ten minutes that was dedicated to just him and her was too quick and sudden. It came and left, leaving Allen feeling empty inside.

He could get by with not eating out and not being too public, but not talking? That was what made him nervous.

He wanted there to be some sense of…being anchored to each other. Right now, their "dating" felt like two ships which would occasionally pass each other if the water was stable and the wind was blowing in the right direction. He couldn't tell if they were moving forwards or backwards in their relationship. And, despite that one time where Rio had blurted out them being possibly married, she never showed much display of love besides a quick conversation and a bowl of Genovese pasta.

Maybe that's why he didn't process it until around two A.M. in the morning that something was wrong. He was angry and afraid that everything their relationship had been built up on was crumbling, fast. He was terrified that their relationship was in fact built on empty promises and only "assumed" affection.

If that had been the case, then did that mean the feelings he felt for Rio was only one-sided? Did she even love him the same way he loved her? Did she even realize how much he thought about her? Did she even know that some nights he would lay awake just thinking of her?

Did she know how crazy he felt about her? How much he cared for her?

He felt so confused that he thought he wouldn't sleep that night. Thought he couldn't sleep that night. Yet sleep came to him, almost unexpectedly. His dreams were filled with nothing with darkness and lingering thoughts until one thought shot through him. It was so powerful it jolted him awake and the next thing he knew he was tugging on his cargo pants and running out the door, not even bothering with a jacket or a shirt or even his glasses.

Even if Rio didn't care for him.

Even if Rio never looked at him the way he looked at her.

Even if their relationship was never something set in stone,

Rio would never, _ever_ leave her animals out after seven.

Ever.

He rushed back to her farm, praying that what he had realized was just his mind overworking itself. Praying that when he got to the farm, everything and everyone was sleeping and still.

To his horror though, the cows, sheep, and chickens of Rio were still outside in the cold winter air. They lifted their heads and he could see the hope in their eyes vanish as they realized the person who was standing there was not their master.

"Rio." Allen whispered. She wasn't here.

Even though he knew she wouldn't be inside her warm home as her animals froze outside, he still rushed to her home and threw the doors open.

No Rio.

He went to her bathroom and knocked loudly before throwing that door open as well.

No Rio.

He checked her washroom.

No Rio.

She wasn't here. It was two-thirty A.M. and she wasn't home.

No,

She _never_ came home he realized.

He ran out her door and was about to go rushing off her farm when a desperate moo-ing noise halted him in his tracks. Rio's cows were looking at him with such longing in their eyes that Allen was forced to stop and slow down. If Rio could see them now, he realized, she would've wanted her animals indoors, safe and sound.

Though he hated wasting more of the precious time he had lost, he knew that Rio would never forgive herself for not taking care of her animals. Walking over to them, Allen gently coaxed them back into their barns. The process was eerily calming as he told them in a soothing voice that he would find Rio, yet it allowed his heartbeat to slow down a little. The moment the animals were all in though, he ran towards the only spot that he knew Rio would even dare to venture in late at night. A place that she would always complain about the most, yet would always return to.

The mine.

He willed himself to move faster as he ran towards the mine. His bare feet seemed to stumble over everything; a root, a rock, and even branch of a tree and he cursed himself for being too slow. Yet finally, finally, he arrived at the mine,

And there was Rio.

Her lips were blue from the cold. Her small frame was spread out on the floor, as if a truck had hit her, and her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping.

"Rio!"

Allen almost didn't recognize his voice as he knelt down beside the girl. His voice sounded desperate and terrified, two emotions he thought he would never hear being expressed by himself before.

"Rio! Rio!"

He felt for a pulse, praying that it was still there. Praying to anyone, the Harvest Goddess, the Harvest King, any deity out there, that she was still alive. His eyes widened as he could feel beneath his fingers,

A pulse.

Wasting no time, he scooped her up and ran. He was breathless and sweating as he banged on Klaus' door. The light switched on and he could hear Klaus yelling at him curses about it being a ridiculous hour. Allen waited as the doctor opened his door painfully slow before rushing in.

"What in good Harvest Goddess' name are you-?!"

Klaus' eyes trailed down to Rio's frame and he froze. Without another word, he took the girl from Allen and whisked her upstairs in a hurry. Though he attempted to follow, a quick yell of "Stay!" was called from the doctor's bedroom, haltering Allen's progression.

"But Rio!" he called. He saw Klaus poke his head from the second floor and shake his head.

"It will be easier for me if you stay down there." was all the doctor said before disappearing again. He strained to hear what was going on upstairs but, like Rio's farm had been, it was eerily quiet.

At a loss, Allen slumped into a chair. He felt utterly exhausted yet at the same time awake and wired. His mind kept flashing back to when he saw Rio in the mine. How vulnerable she had looked. How different from the usual Rio she looked. He placed his head in hands and closed his eyes. He could feel his mind swirl in endless circles of questions of "why?" Why had he only just noticed something was wrong? Why didn't he see it sooner? Why did he let his anger get the better of him? Why didn't he think of Rio before he thought of himself?

It was as if his mind was being haunted by storms.

He almost jumped out of his skin when Klaus gently tapped him on his shoulder. One look at his face told Allen everything.

Holding out one his spare shirts, Klaus watched as Allen slowly tugged it on and button it. Giving a nod of thanks, the stylist quickly walked up the stairs to the second floor. What looked like mid-afternoon sunshine was streaming through the window, gently illuminating Rio's hair as the farmer turned to look at him.

Allen didn't say anything. Just simply walked over to her and took her hand. He squeezed it, loving how it felt pressed against his palms. Loving how warm and safe it felt.

They sat there in silence for what felt like a long time. Neither of them spoke. They both simply sat there and enjoyed each other's presence. It wasn't until the sun began to slowly retract its beams that Rio finally cleared her throat.

"Sorry…." she said softly, in a voice that sound slightly cracked. She gave him a sheepish grin. "I couldn't keep our promise last night. I guess I kinda…blew the Starry Night Festival huh?" she gave a half-hearted laugh.

That laugh. That stupidly innocent laugh was all it took. He couldn't take it anymore and felt his head fall and gently lean against her shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again," he said. "Please Rio…. I can't lose you."

He felt her tense beneath him, yet he forced himself to continue. "Not even that…. I won't lose you," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "There's still so much I want to do with you…. So much we still haven't done yet…."

"Haven't done?" he heard her say. He could feel her breath tickling his head as she asked, "What haven't we done?"

He was surprised by what came out of his mouth next.

"Talk." he said simply. "Talk and…. just be together."

His voice began shaking and he could feel something begin to press against his eyes like a heavy weight.

"We never talk Rio…we never hang out…. we don't even hold hands…we never do anything that makes us feel like a couple and sometimes…Sometimes…"

He couldn't get the next words out because they were stuck painfully in his throat, like some kind of lost pill or medication. Yet somewhere deep inside of himself, he knew that even if he _could_ get them out, it would instead painfully damage his ego….

And he didn't want Rio to see a side of him like that.

That was why he was surprised that, instead of pressing on and asking, Rio instead gently pushed him off her shoulder and, in a moment that must've been spurred by pure courage and boldness itself,

Rio kissed him.

She was closing her eyes as she did it, as if afraid to look at him, yet Allen's eyes were wide open. His eyes were still wide as Rio pulled away and looked at him shyly.

They sat in silence again but this time an unknown tension pulled at the air like a child tugging at a locked door handle. Finally, it was Rio who spoke up again.

"I'm no good at expressing myself." she said (Allen already knew this), "And I have a hard time being all emotional and stuff," (he also had come to realize this), "And I hate when people give me…. _those_ types of looks." (He knew what looks she was talking about.) "But…" she smiled at Allen, her face turning a lovely shade of red. "I want more too Allen. I want more everything. I want to be all sappy romantic and stuff. And I want to be all sappy romantic and stuff with you because I. …Y'know…" she coughed embarrassedly and looked away, mumbling something incoherent.

Yet he knew what she had said.

And Allen couldn't help but smirk at her words. He could feel the corners of his mouth curve upwards as he felt himself finally, finally relax.

"What?" he asked deviously. "What do I know?" He felt his smirk widen as the color began to spread across Rio's face.

"Y'know…. y'know!" Rio half said half yelled. She turned and pouted at Allen. "Don't make me say something so embarrassing ya weird stylist!"

He couldn't help but laugh at her cuteness. "What's so embarrassing?" he asked, drawing out the words and making sure Rio's face had turned that tomato shade of red.

Rio refused to look at him as she yelled, "Shut up!"

"Oh come now Rio, you can tell me." he purred.

"It's…. it's…Y'know already!"

Allen's smirk morphed into a true smile.

Yes. He knew. Even if Rio didn't say it, he knew.

Despite all her shortcomings, he knew that Rio, wonderful, beautiful Rio,

Was the "one."

 **XXX**

 **A late X-Mas fic for you lovelies. I LOVE Allen and Rio as a couple. They are just too adorable!**

 **Happy New Year guys!**


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